xkcd

by **KrazyerKate** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 11:56 am UTC

That was one hell of a rant, but I think I agree with you on all accounts. I think the underlying cause is that the later episodes have focused more on the characters' private lives than before, and House's appeal has always been that he (and by extension most of his team) doesn't care about personal relationships. I remember House looked genuinely terrified (an expression which usually is reserved for the "my patient might actually die" scenes) when he heard that he had to deal with Cuddy's mother. They devoted an entire episode recently to Chase freaking out over someone photoshopping his face in a funny way. This is the sort of silly drama that I watch House to escape from.

by **SlyReaper** » Mon Feb 07, 2011 12:15 pm UTC

It wasn't his face they photoshopped.

by **You, sir, name?** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 10:07 pm UTC

I like that he's started calling differential diagnosis "d/dx".

by **BlackSails** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 5:33 am UTC

You, sir, name? wrote:I like that he's started calling differential diagnosis "d/dx".

Its ddx actually, and its a standard term.

by **SlyReaper** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 7:34 am UTC

BlackSails wrote:
You, sir, name? wrote:I like that he's started calling differential diagnosis "d/dx".

Its ddx actually, and its a standard term.

And he's been calling them that since day one, so I'm not sure what you mean by "started".

by **KrazyerKate** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 2:24 pm UTC

can you provide an example? I don't remember anyone ever using the phrase before this episode, and I just finished a marathon watchthrough of seasons 1 through 4.

by **H2SO4** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 3:40 pm UTC

I think he just writes it on the whiteboard...

by **SlyReaper** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 4:10 pm UTC

I'm sure I've heard it called that before this episode.

by **You, sir, name?** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 9:15 pm UTC

BlackSails wrote:
You, sir, name? wrote:I like that he's started calling differential diagnosis "d/dx".

Its ddx actually, and its a standard term.

Wikipedia offers the alternative spelling D/Dx, which is close enough to mathematical differentiation to suggest a relation.

by **jaap** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:12 pm UTC

You, sir, name? wrote:
BlackSails wrote:
You, sir, name? wrote:I like that he's started calling differential diagnosis "d/dx".

Its ddx actually, and its a standard term.

Wikipedia offers the alternative spelling D/Dx, which is close enough to mathematical differentiation to suggest a relation.

They use Dx for diagnosis, Px for Prognosis, and Rx for Prescription. It's probably just a coincidence that DDx is similar to d/dx.

by **H2SO4** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:28 pm UTC

jaap wrote:They use Dx for diagnosis, Px for Prognosis, and Rx for Prescription. It's probably just a coincidence that DDx is similar to d/dx.

Where do they get that x, anyway?

by **You, sir, name?** » Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:29 pm UTC

That would imply most doctors have not taken elementary calculus.

This makes me afraid to go to the doctor.

by **ArgonV** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 1:28 am UTC

You, sir, name? wrote:That would imply most doctors have not taken elementary calculus.

This makes me afraid to go to the doctor.

I've heard doctors telling horror stories about other doctors confusing mgs and µgs... So yeah...

by **SlyReaper** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:02 am UTC

H2SO4 wrote:
jaap wrote:They use Dx for diagnosis, Px for Prognosis, and Rx for Prescription. It's probably just a coincidence that DDx is similar to d/dx.

Where do they get that x, anyway?

Same place as we get the x in Tx = Transmitter and Rx = Receiver. That is, somebody's arse. But that somebody was important enough to make it stick.

ArgonV wrote:
You, sir, name? wrote:That would imply most doctors have not taken elementary calculus.

This makes me afraid to go to the doctor.

I've heard doctors telling horror stories about other doctors confusing mgs and µgs... So yeah...

Meh, since when have three orders of magnitude ever hurt anyone?

by **Chen** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 2:36 pm UTC

ArgonV wrote:
You, sir, name? wrote:That would imply most doctors have not taken elementary calculus.

This makes me afraid to go to the doctor.

I've heard doctors telling horror stories about other doctors confusing mgs and µgs... So yeah...

Of course that has nothing at all to do with calculus. Thats a much more severe lack of mathematical knowledge.

by **headprogrammingczar** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:17 pm UTC

SlyReaper wrote:Meh, since when have three orders of magnitude ever hurt anyone?

Well, there was this one MRI machine...

by **broken_escalator** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 7:22 pm UTC

SlyReaper wrote:
H2SO4 wrote:
jaap wrote:They use Dx for diagnosis, Px for Prognosis, and Rx for Prescription. It's probably just a coincidence that DDx is similar to d/dx.

Where do they get that x, anyway?

Same place as we get the x in Tx = Transmitter and Rx = Receiver. That is, somebody's arse. But that somebody was important enough to make it stick.

My money is on them not being originally 'x's at all. But due to poor-doctor-handwriting everyone thought that's what they were and mimicked it!

by **KrazyerKate** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 3:40 pm UTC

Since when does House talk to kids, much less listen to them? I found myself actually liking the guy. I had to turn it off halfway through.

by **The EGE** » Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:32 pm UTC

The girl talked back to him. House seems to respect anyone who manages to return fire.

by **BlackSails** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:50 am UTC

Rx for prescription is actually from latin.

by **Ryom** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:39 am UTC

The Career Day episode was fantastic, easily one of the best of the series.

by **Link** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:55 am UTC

Ryom wrote:The Career Day episode was fantastic, easily one of the best of the series.

Hmm, I liked it, but I wouldn't call it one of the best. (Explanation spoiler'd for those who haven't seen the episode yet.)

Spoiler:

by **EstLladon** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 8:47 pm UTC

Also

Spoiler:

by **Ryom** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:08 pm UTC

I loved it so much because it broke from the formulaic. This was an episode about House being House, amped up to 11.

by **ArgonV** » Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:08 pm UTC

Spoiler:

by **Amarantha** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 10:33 am UTC

Spoiler:

by **SlyReaper** » Thu Feb 24, 2011 11:15 am UTC

Spoiler:

by **You, sir, name?** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 10:52 pm UTC

Why is Wilson, who last time I checked was an oncologist, dealing with some guy's cholesterol level?

by **crowey** » Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:04 pm UTC

Chen wrote:
ArgonV wrote:
You, sir, name? wrote:That would imply most doctors have not taken elementary calculus.

This makes me afraid to go to the doctor.

I've heard doctors telling horror stories about other doctors confusing mgs and µgs... So yeah...

Of course that has nothing at all to do with calculus. Thats a much more severe lack of mathematical knowledge.

I suspect it's more to do with poor handwriting, a sloppy µ looks a lot like a sloppy m.

by **SlyReaper** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:36 am UTC

You, sir, name? wrote:Why is Wilson, who last time I checked was an oncologist, dealing with some guy's cholesterol level?

Oncology is his speciality, that doesn't mean he can't be a general doctor too.

by **You, sir, name?** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:26 am UTC

SlyReaper wrote:
You, sir, name? wrote:Why is Wilson, who last time I checked was an oncologist, dealing with some guy's cholesterol level?

Oncology is his speciality, that doesn't mean he can't be a general doctor too.

True enough. But wouldn't he be doing that in the clinic, instead of in his fancy office? I can see him giving the "you have cancer"-talk in his office, but not the "you have slightly elevated blood-pressure and should cut down on the meat and salt"-talk.

by **Angua** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 11:41 am UTC

Maybe the patient has cancer as well (or is now in remission), came in for a checkup, Wilson noticed the high cholesterol and told him. Just because you have cancer doesn't mean you can't have atherosclerosis too.

by **Kaelri** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 3:19 am UTC

That was a terrible, terrible hour of television, wasn't it.

by **KrazyerKate** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:37 am UTC

Spoiler:

I guess it makes sense for his character arc, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

by **cephalopod9** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:24 pm UTC

Was anyone else as thrown by the excange that went:
Patient: (lost job in recession)
Dr. MarySue: So it's Obama's fault you lied to your wife?

Wut?
Did Fox pay them to put that in there?
Is it just hack writing?

I could sort of see the new doctor as a ruthless/social darwinist right winger in her naive idealistic way. So far they seem to be playing it straight that her biggest flaw is that she's too nice and too good.
I have to admit, I don't mind hugely at the soap opera grade drama they've been throwing out there, even though it's a clear step down from previous seasons.
But they should have more fun with that character.

by **The EGE** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 11:21 pm UTC

I took it as sarcasm on her part.

by **SlyReaper** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:31 am UTC

It was, but it contained the non-sarcastic implication that the recession is Obama's fault.

by **KrazyerKate** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 2:35 pm UTC

SlyReaper wrote:It was, but it contained the non-sarcastic implication that the recession is Obama's fault.

"Obama" and "the recession" were kinda synonyms in this context. The obama reference caught me off guard too, but I've been known to read too much into things before, so I figured it was just me.

I have to admit, I don't mind hugely at the soap opera grade drama they've been throwing out there, even though it's a clear step down from previous seasons.
But they should have more fun with that character.

There's really no "bad" art, so it's hard for me to say anything but my opinions of Soap Opera House. I can't say that you're wrong for enjoying it: The new type of episode might appeal to a different type of viewer. All I can say is that personally, a more people-oriented show kinda throws out my main reason for watching the show. Before, I could relate to House's blatant disregard for anything but his latest project, and his overly-logic-based approach to everything. If House is going to become a more reasonable, human character, I no longer have a reason to root for him because he's just like all the other characters in my eyes.

Edit: latest episode? holy crap.

by **You, sir, name?** » Tue Mar 08, 2011 11:35 pm UTC

I felt like the latest episode jumped the shark a bit. But in another way, it's cool to see some of Laurie's acting versatility.

by **The EGE** » Wed Mar 09, 2011 1:15 am UTC

That musical sequence was one of the greatest scenes I have ever seen on television, if only for the sheer audacity. The rest of the episode was unimpressive.

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